If you look up the stages that children go through when learning to read chances are you will find the process broken up into multiple different categories in multiple different ways. Though the process itself is pretty straightforward and the same with each discourse, everyone seems to have a different spin on how they go about explaining it. Below is mine. Take it for what it is meant to be: a helpful guide for parents in assisting their child in learning how to read.
What I have created below is not the hard-core, scientifically approved categories for explaining the early stages of reading. It is the efforts to explain the process as written by a certified teacher who is a mother about to teach her young child to read. Particularly with the purpose to help parents navigate finding the right books for their children. I hope you can understand the intent and I hope that it helps a parent or two out there who is trying to help their kiddo embark on the reading journey. I know first hand that navigating the “book world” to finding the right book for your child can be challenging, especially in the beginning reader stages.
Emergent Reader
Emergent readers are children who are just “stepping into” the world of reading. They know their ABC’s and are just understanding that when all combined they create the words that make up our language. For this stage they need a solid foundation with phonics (the sounds each letter makes) and then they can practice with instructional reader pamphlets/phonics books in addition to practice with sight words among other skills.
Instructional reader pamphlets are commonly used in Kindergarten curriculums and are typically printed out and stapled together down the middle. When you look inside there is often the introduction of a few words (and possibly sounds) in the very beginning to practice followed by pages that utilize these words in a short phrase per page. There is also usually a simple illustration on each page to go with the text. There is little to no plot or story because there simply isn’t enough text and it is to limited to a small number of words.
Early Reader
Early readers are readers that are newly able to read simple text on their own with little to no help. They have a good grasp on phonics and the process of sounding words out as well as a growing word bank of sight words that they are familiar with. At this stage children are ready to read early/leveled readers. These readers are often slim books that are very short and simple. They have pictures on pretty much every single page to go with the sparse text that doesn’t use a vocabulary that is too extensive and contains simple words that constantly repeat. The “stories” in these books are often incredibly simple to the point where it isn’t so much a story at all. Nonetheless, you can definitely find some really entertaining early readers if you look hard enough. (Such as the “Elephant and Piggie” series!)
A lot of publishers have their own system of leveling their readers from more basic to more advanced to help you know which books to select for your children. This is really handy because they have done the work on rating the word count, difficulty and more for you. For example, Harper Collins has their “I Can Read” leveling system that you can read about HERE and Penguin Random House has their “Step Into Reading” leveling system that you can read about HERE. Many other publishers, such as Scholastic, have leveling systems you can check out as well.
**For some excellent Early Reader Book Series recommendations check out THIS POST
Transitional Reader
After leveled readers children are ready for beginning/easy chapter books. These chapter books are the connection between leveled readers and regular chapter books. You can often recognize beginning/easy chapter books simply by glancing through the interiors. Usually there are still a good number of illustrations and the chapters are incredibly short. Also, the text is often spaced out with extra room between lines and possibly even a larger font. My favorite thing about these books is that they actually have a plot! This is so much fun for new readers and I can’t wait for my kiddos to reach this stage.
One thing to note is that there is still quite a range within beginning/easy chapter books. Towards the beginning you have series like “Mercy Watson”, then it moves to series like “The Magic Treehouse” series and continues all the way to series like “Nancy Drew” which as a whole is on the cusp of middle grade chapter books. All beginning chapter books are geared towards children ages 5-8, but each child learns to read at their own pace and there is a lot of reading development that occurs in just those few years. Keep that in mind when selecting beginning chapter books for your kiddos.
Fluent Reader
This is the goal! A fluent reader is one that is finally able to read to learn as opposed to spending their effort learning to read. (Or just simply read for the sheer pleasure and entertainment of it. ) They can read independently and have the skills necessary for decoding new words and constantly expanding their vocabulary. This stage starts in the book world with middle grade chapter books then moves on to young adult novels which are followed by adult novels. It is also where some serious bookworm fun can begin!
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